Symptoms start mild dementia. Early signs can be hard to recognize.Individuals at this level can act independently. They may misplace words or objects, impacting daily living.
1. Early stage
1. early memory loss, like forgetting recent events
2. personality changes like subduing or with drawing
3. becoming bewildered even in familiar places
4. trouble solving problems and doing sophisticated things like finance
5. trouble organizing or expressing ideas
Other common symptoms of early stage dementia include:
Moderate dementia is more noticeable. Daily tasks like dressing, eating, and showering may be harder. Middle-stage patients may need daily home care. Some move to dementia-friendly assisted living.
2. Middle stage
1. decreased clarity or judgment
2. Friends and family names become harder to remember.
3. rapid short-term memory loss that may reoccur
4. greater long-term memory loss, such forgetting distant events
5. Delusions, paranoia, or hallucinations
Common symptoms of middle stage dementia include:
People who are in the late stages of dementia, also called serious dementia, may need full-time care at home or in a nursing home. At this time, too, life expectancy is very low.
3. Late stage
1. trouble communicating, such as speaking only their childhood language
2. altered time perception
3. needing 24/7 eating, dressing, and bathing assistance
Severe symptoms might include:
4. difficulty to recognize friends, family, or oneself in a mirror
5. No ability to walk, sit, swallow, or stand
6. incontinence, 7. susceptible to pneumonia